October 5, 2006
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Arrgghhh!!!
The other night I was sitting with Dmitry, helping him locate answers to the questions in his biology pack he'd been unable to find.
Suddenly my eye lit upon a word that caused me to shriek in rage and pound my fists upon the offending page. Dmitry, being of a rather nervous disposition, was understandably startled at my outburst, which in turn caused him to yell in dismay and surprise.
Basically, pandemonium reigned.
What caused such a ruckus? I'll tell you....
One word: cactuses.
CACTUSES? CACTUSES?
I beg your pardon, illiterate folk who are writing biology texts, what happened to CACTI? Look, the song "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" is a cute song, and the "hippopotamussusses" is amusing, but it isn't proper grammar. Neither is "cactuses."
One cactus. Two cacti. One hippopotamus. Two hippopotami. One virus. Two virii.
This is actually one of the simpler grammatical rules of this wacky language we call "English." If a noun ends with the plural "us", make it the singular "I".
It's a fine how-de-do when those who write textbooks of whatever subject cannot manage to use correct grammar.
Comments (28)
Actually I meant doofi. Talk about stepping on my own joke.
Dawn, I hate to tell you this, but I'm actually rather partial to it.
Is it possible that the word is like fish and fishes -- individual members of the group are collectively referred to as "fish," but various types are referred to as "fishes?"
Dictionary.com provides both possibilities:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cactus
And "virii" isn't even listed as an option. Not all Latin-derived words, apparently, take their latinate plurals. It's not a rule of English syntax per se, it's an exception that applies to certain words that have been brought into English.
I pay for this blog, madam, and I sez it's "cacti".
So there.
Seriously? Xanga's not free?
Not if you want to keep it ad-free, and have access to all the editing capabilities. It's only $25 a year though. Not bad. ;^)
Ah. Kapiche.
Do you suppose it's because of an increasing unfamiliarity with Latin? I've never hear virii - took me a moment to figure out what you were talking about. But I do agree that it seems in line with the general trend of illiteracy in America.
Wow! Grammar gets lots of comments! I have to remember that!
It would have made me shriek, too. I am sure that cacti is correct, do you think that the dictionary changed it because people don't use the right word anymore? You know what I mean? That it has become common for people to say cactuses (ew!) and so they put it in there as an alternative?
BTW, stupid I looked it up in my 1828...it said, "cactus? what's that?"
Dont worry. Everythings under control. I founded the author's of the book that had contained the bad grammar. Our children need to have understood that incorrect grammar will not fly so I sat them straight. I toilet papered there house, and throwed eggs at there car? And the worst thing I've could have done was save the best for at last. I rang the doorbell bell and ran, I mean runned, away. I was sure to leave a note that stated as follows "I, Anne Ivy, was not in congruency of you're book in the studys of Biology. I found it improper and unappropriate. Most of all, the proper way of spelling the word 'cacti' is 'cactuses'."
This satirical shot at my mother's never ending stride to rid the world of incorrect grammar has been brought to you by the letter "s," and by the number 14.
Japan ain't that far away, bub.
I know people. >:^(
Hehehehehe....
Oh go blow your horn, Alex! We are praying for your family in Japan! Anne, I've really enjoyed these comments! Too funny!
Wouldn't the plural of 'virus' be the same as the plural of 'radius', BTW? I know the latter is radii and I'm sure I've read or heard virii before.
Growing up with and raising Alex must have been a laugh a minute!
But if there's an absolute rule that all words have to take the plural form that they would take in their languages of origin, things could get pretty weird. ISTM that some words retain those plurals, and some don't. Spelling is mostly a user-issue, not a design issue -- that is, words are spelled as they've come to be consistently spelled over time, not because there are absolute laws governing English spelling. And over time, the plural of virus has come to be consistently spelled viruses. All professionals who write and speak of viruses use that form.
Of course, if you're really going to insist on this, you could see what happens when you call up the shop and try to order a couple pizzi for your family.
And don't even get me STARTED on split infinitives. We need to thoughtfully use
split infinitives wherever they are appropriate. The split infinitive rule is based on the totally stupid idea that English, a Germanic language, should follow the rules of Latin, a Romance language. German not only permits, but requires, split infinitives in some constructions. The split infinitive rule is completely pointless. There are times when keeping the infinitive together makes for a smoother construction, and times when it sounds ridiculous.
I daresay you're right, but it doesn't change the fact "cacti" is right and "cactuses" is wrong.
Not to mention "cactuses" sounds as stupid as "hippopotamuses." ;^)
No, dear Jane, the split infinitive rule isn't necessarily sensible, but like spelling, it's a way of telling the literate from the illiterate.
Kelly! You're a snob! This whole thing is giving me a lot of amusement!
Guess we know how to get your dander up!!! Hope y'all got over the cacti debacle.
Tim, about the only way to get my dander up higher'n this is to confuse 'amount' and 'number'.
Okay, and saying 'irregardless' when one means 'regardless'.
Um, and the unword 'impactful' makes the 'cactuses' eruption pale in comparison.
English is a wonderful, winsome language and should be treated with respect.
I've got a son on a torpedo-laden sub plus Google Earth, so clearly I'm not a woman to be trifled with.
Er, make that "a woman with whom to trifle."
Margaret, that was a revelation? ROFLOL! And I thought you knew me!
I wasn't disputing cactuses, I was disputing virii.
But now you mention it, I just came across "cactuses" in Maria's science book yesterday, as well. In that case, the context was clearly "types of cactus." So again, I'm guessing that "cacti" is proper form for "a bunch of cactus plants" and "cactuses" is proper for "types of cactus plants."
Kelly, the way you tell the literate from the illiterate is that the illiterate aren't writing ANYTHING. Honestly, I thought you'd know what the word "illiterate" means.
Ha. That's what they want you to believe, but more than likely someone goofed up once, and rather than acknowledge their grammatical faux pas, the textbook publisher decided to bluff their way through by insisting the rule is to use one plural form in this situation, and a different plural form in another situation.
Sad to say, their effort appears to be paying off. =8^o
Funny enought. But virii, no, viruses. If were gonna rant about proper grammar let's have our grammar correct in the process. (ha ha ha)
26...er 27 comments! Mahvelous!
And I thought Greek was hard.
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